GSE PS3 (5-8) INQ+ POC -8b Students demonstrate an understanding of force (e.g.,friction, gravitational, magnetic) by 8d showing that electric currents and magnets can exert a force on each other.After experimentation, the students will draw diagrams demonstrating their understanding of the different ways in which electricity can affect magnetism.
B.Formal Assessment
11th Grade Marine Ecology
GSE LS1 (9-11) INQ+SAE+FAF -1a Explaining the relationships between and amongst the specialized structures of the cell and their functions (e.g. transport of materials, energy transfer, protein building, waste disposal, information feedback, and even movement).The students will demonstrate their knowledge of the movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane as well as the basic requirements for life by answering the questions about their reading.
The assignment was the attached sheet that entailed steps and activities that where to be followed in the student activity book. The activities on the sheet included diagrams and questions to guide the students understanding of the activity.In the activity the students first built a simple circuit with a light bulb, battery and, switch.With the circuit, students could observe a complete circuit versus an incomplete circuit simply by looking to see if the bulb was illuminated.Once the students sketched the circuit they then placed a compass under and parallel to the wire, the students then observed the electricity’s effect of the compass. The students then sketched the effect of the electrical current on the compass as well as offered a hypothesis as to why they saw what they did.The student then built a solenoid and used their compass to find its magnetic poles; they also had to justify their method for finding the poles.The students then reversed the current through the circuit to observe its effect on the solenoid.In the final experiment the students construct an electromagnet and try to brainstorm ways in which they could improve the strength of the electromagnet.
During the class I was moving through the classroom to observe the students work as well as answer any questions which the students had.I was able to get a pretty accurate idea of understanding by observing the students work.Occasionally it was necessary to stop a student who was off track and help them get back on task.Once the students where done I collected the answers and diagrams they had completed with the assignment.Their grade was based entirely on completion and was meant for me to better understand what concepts they where struggling with.
This assignment was a quiz of material that was assigned for homework as well as covered in class.With every reading assignment, I allow students to create a note sheet while reading the chapter they are allowed to use these note sheets on their reading quizzes.This quiz was given after students had read the chapter and I had offered a short overview of the material in class.This quiz helps me gauge not only who understands what is going on in class but also who is doing the homework and who is not. The quiz was about the property of water in different solutions with a semi-permeable membrane it involved three questions.The first question was based on a diagram of three different cell in different solutions.The students needed to name what type of system they where observing and give a brief explanation of what was happening. The second question asked the students to simply recall five of the seven factors that define a living organism.The last question was a two-part question that asked the students to recall the two types of organisms in an aquatic environment osmoregulators and osmoconformers.
When grading the quiz I simply looked to see if the information was accurate and if all parts of the questions where answered.The section where many students lost points what in the first question as they where asked to both name the type of solutions (isotonic, hypotonic, and hypertonic) and explain how they knew that the solutions where what they where.Many students did not include the second part of the answer so they only got half credit.
IV. Analysis
A. Description of Class Context 1)Informal assessment:My informal assessment was taken from a 6th grade science class.In my class the students where in a unit on magnets and motors.The work they did was based on a kit with workbook.I did however alter the kit and selectively pick sections from the assignment book I liked as well as negating sections that I thought where unnecessary. This assignment was implemented in the student’s introduction to the relationship of electricity and magnetism.
2)Formal assessment:My formal assessment was from my 11th grade marine ecology class it was a quiz on assigned reading and classroom discussion. The quiz is on osmosis and diffusion.This material is the end of a transition of a biology review and the start of a hazards of sea living unit. B. Analysis of Informal Assessment While every student stayed on task and completed the experiments, a small number of students did not record while they worked and tried to copy their partners work at the end of the experiment.I made the rules of the experiment clear before any materials where passed out, so it was unacceptable to have anyone copying notes after all the work was done.This lead to incomplete journal entries such as the low achievement example provided. This assignment was simply graded for completion so if a student put froth the effort to answer the questions and draw the diagrams they achieved full credit, points where lost for blank spaces. I used the responses to better understand student misconceptions and points of interest, which I could use to help keep the lessons in touch with their everyday life.
C. Analysis of Formal Assessment
The quiz was able to help me not only understand which students understood the content but who was doing the homework as well as who was paying attention in class.The first question was covered both in class and in the reading.The second question was only covered in class and the third was only covered in the reading.While I did cover the information from question three in class after the quiz I used the quiz to get a better feel for how was doing what in my class as well as a reality check for students who where ignoring a facet of my lessons. While I found that different student struggled on different question the average grade was an 83 or B-.
V. Commentary / Reflection
A. Reflections from Informal Assessment I found the informal assessment to be a success in that the majority of the concepts seemed to be well understood and the students where able to build and “play with” both a solenoid and electromagnet before I ever talked about it in class.The students prior exposure to the solenoid and electromagnet made the material easy to cover because instead of a lecture I was able to have a discussion.I did seem to have one reoccurring issue with the assignment, which had to do with proving which pole was which in the solenoid. The students seemed to struggle with this question because they where still not able to get into the mindset that a compass is just a free spinning magnet.Once I reviewed the material on compasses, I found more students where able use the compasses to find the orientation of different magnetic fields. B. Reflections from Formal Assessment My formal assessment was a success in that I had an average grade of 83 or a B-.My assessment also showed me which students where doing the reading and who was not.I then used the results as a motivation for the students who have been skipping the reading assignments to rethink their reading habits in my class. This assessment was important from the standpoint that many of the topics that follow it are based on the concepts of osmosis and diffusion.It is important for the students to have this base knowledge for me to build upon in the following chapters.I found with the exception of only a couple of students (which where accommodated on an individual basis) the student understanding was such that I could move unto the new material.
VI. Conclusions Overall, I feel both assessments preformed their given purpose successfully.My informal assessment helped me answer many questions, and clear up some individual misconceptions.I was also able to reinforce the idea that the hands on experimentation is just as important as the questions that come along with the assignment. My formal assessment was successful in both ensuring that the majority of the students where ready to move into the more advanced material.The formal assessment also helped me identify the students who where in need of individual help before the new material was covered.
Formal and Informal Assessment of Student Learning
Name: Ryan Feeney
I. Assignment Description/Requirements
Formal Informal Assessments 2009
II. Description of Learning Goals
A. Informal Assessment
6th Grade Science
GSE PS3 (5-8) INQ+ POC -8b Students demonstrate an understanding of force (e.g.,friction, gravitational, magnetic) by 8d showing that electric currents and magnets can exert a force on each other. After experimentation, the students will draw diagrams demonstrating their understanding of the different ways in which electricity can affect magnetism.B. Formal Assessment
11th Grade Marine Ecology
GSE LS1 (9-11) INQ+SAE+FAF -1a Explaining the relationships between and amongst the specialized structures of the cell and their functions (e.g. transport of materials, energy transfer, protein building, waste disposal, information feedback, and even movement). The students will demonstrate their knowledge of the movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane as well as the basic requirements for life by answering the questions about their reading.
III. Assessments
A. Description of Informal Assessment
· Electricity and magnetism informal assessment
The assignment was the attached sheet that entailed steps and activities that where to be followed in the student activity book. The activities on the sheet included diagrams and questions to guide the students understanding of the activity. In the activity the students first built a simple circuit with a light bulb, battery and, switch. With the circuit, students could observe a complete circuit versus an incomplete circuit simply by looking to see if the bulb was illuminated. Once the students sketched the circuit they then placed a compass under and parallel to the wire, the students then observed the electricity’s effect of the compass. The students then sketched the effect of the electrical current on the compass as well as offered a hypothesis as to why they saw what they did. The student then built a solenoid and used their compass to find its magnetic poles; they also had to justify their method for finding the poles. The students then reversed the current through the circuit to observe its effect on the solenoid. In the final experiment the students construct an electromagnet and try to brainstorm ways in which they could improve the strength of the electromagnet.During the class I was moving through the classroom to observe the students work as well as answer any questions which the students had. I was able to get a pretty accurate idea of understanding by observing the students work. Occasionally it was necessary to stop a student who was off track and help them get back on task. Once the students where done I collected the answers and diagrams they had completed with the assignment. Their grade was based entirely on completion and was meant for me to better understand what concepts they where struggling with.
B. Description of Formal Assessment
- RQOF marine ecology
This assignment was a quiz of material that was assigned for homework as well as covered in class. With every reading assignment, I allow students to create a note sheet while reading the chapter they are allowed to use these note sheets on their reading quizzes. This quiz was given after students had read the chapter and I had offered a short overview of the material in class. This quiz helps me gauge not only who understands what is going on in class but also who is doing the homework and who is not. The quiz was about the property of water in different solutions with a semi-permeable membrane it involved three questions. The first question was based on a diagram of three different cell in different solutions. The students needed to name what type of system they where observing and give a brief explanation of what was happening. The second question asked the students to simply recall five of the seven factors that define a living organism. The last question was a two-part question that asked the students to recall the two types of organisms in an aquatic environment osmoregulators and osmoconformers.When grading the quiz I simply looked to see if the information was accurate and if all parts of the questions where answered. The section where many students lost points what in the first question as they where asked to both name the type of solutions (isotonic, hypotonic, and hypertonic) and explain how they knew that the solutions where what they where. Many students did not include the second part of the answer so they only got half credit.
IV. Analysis
A. Description of Class Context
1) Informal assessment: My informal assessment was taken from a 6th grade science class. In my class the students where in a unit on magnets and motors. The work they did was based on a kit with workbook. I did however alter the kit and selectively pick sections from the assignment book I liked as well as negating sections that I thought where unnecessary. This assignment was implemented in the student’s introduction to the relationship of electricity and magnetism.
2) Formal assessment: My formal assessment was from my 11th grade marine ecology class it was a quiz on assigned reading and classroom discussion. The quiz is on osmosis and diffusion. This material is the end of a transition of a biology review and the start of a hazards of sea living unit.
B. Analysis of Informal Assessment
While every student stayed on task and completed the experiments, a small number of students did not record while they worked and tried to copy their partners work at the end of the experiment. I made the rules of the experiment clear before any materials where passed out, so it was unacceptable to have anyone copying notes after all the work was done. This lead to incomplete journal entries such as the low achievement example provided. This assignment was simply graded for completion so if a student put froth the effort to answer the questions and draw the diagrams they achieved full credit, points where lost for blank spaces. I used the responses to better understand student misconceptions and points of interest, which I could use to help keep the lessons in touch with their everyday life.
C. Analysis of Formal Assessment
The quiz was able to help me not only understand which students understood the content but who was doing the homework as well as who was paying attention in class. The first question was covered both in class and in the reading. The second question was only covered in class and the third was only covered in the reading. While I did cover the information from question three in class after the quiz I used the quiz to get a better feel for how was doing what in my class as well as a reality check for students who where ignoring a facet of my lessons. While I found that different student struggled on different question the average grade was an 83 or B-.
V. Commentary / Reflection
A. Reflections from Informal Assessment
I found the informal assessment to be a success in that the majority of the concepts seemed to be well understood and the students where able to build and “play with” both a solenoid and electromagnet before I ever talked about it in class. The students prior exposure to the solenoid and electromagnet made the material easy to cover because instead of a lecture I was able to have a discussion. I did seem to have one reoccurring issue with the assignment, which had to do with proving which pole was which in the solenoid. The students seemed to struggle with this question because they where still not able to get into the mindset that a compass is just a free spinning magnet. Once I reviewed the material on compasses, I found more students where able use the compasses to find the orientation of different magnetic fields.
B. Reflections from Formal Assessment
My formal assessment was a success in that I had an average grade of 83 or a B-. My assessment also showed me which students where doing the reading and who was not. I then used the results as a motivation for the students who have been skipping the reading assignments to rethink their reading habits in my class.
This assessment was important from the standpoint that many of the topics that follow it are based on the concepts of osmosis and diffusion. It is important for the students to have this base knowledge for me to build upon in the following chapters. I found with the exception of only a couple of students (which where accommodated on an individual basis) the student understanding was such that I could move unto the new material.
VI. Conclusions
Overall, I feel both assessments preformed their given purpose successfully. My informal assessment helped me answer many questions, and clear up some individual misconceptions. I was also able to reinforce the idea that the hands on experimentation is just as important as the questions that come along with the assignment. My formal assessment was successful in both ensuring that the majority of the students where ready to move into the more advanced material. The formal assessment also helped me identify the students who where in need of individual help before the new material was covered.